Canelo Alvarez's Next Fight Must Be Against Floyd Mayweather

After beating Austin Trout Saturday night and unifying the WBC and WBA light middleweight championships, Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (42-0-1) proved that the only logical next step in his career is a megafight against boxing legend Floyd Mayweather (43-0).

At only 22 years old, Alvarez is one of the most gifted prospects in the sport and is looking to become one of the biggest stars boxing has ever seen.

With genuine mainstream appeal building around Alvarez already, the possibility of a fight against a bona fide pay-per-view attraction like Mayweather would be the smart move for selling the fighter to the casual fans that have only seen Canelo’s most recent bouts.

Canelo wants all the titles. He wants to unify the titles. Ishe Smith just won a championship and he is in a hot division. There is no reason why he can't be in the mix for these fights but Canelo's focus right now is to make the biggest fights out there and that is Floyd Mayweather.

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Win, lose or draw, as long as Alvarez is able to give Mayweather serious competition in the potential bout, the fact the young fighter would be stepping between the ropes with the future Hall of Famer would help continue his ascension toward becoming one of the sport’s top prize fighters.

Some experts will claim that Alvarez putting his undefeated record on the line against the also undefeated Mayweather after being unable to put Trout away in his most recent fight—won by unanimous decision Saturday night—is the wrong move, but a high-profile fight is how stars are built.

Who would win in this proposed megafight?

Floyd MayweatherSaul "Canelo" AlvarezSubmit Votevote to see results

Who would win in this proposed megafight?

Floyd Mayweather

51.6%

Saul "Canelo" Alvarez

48.4%

Total votes: 5,212

Canelo is already touted as one of the future stars of the sport, and with Mayweather already 36 years old, this could be the passing of the torch that takes Alvarez from an ascending star to the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

Mayweather would have to beat Robert Guerrero in May for a bout against Alvarez to come to fruition, but with Money still supremely confident in his skill and ability, the challenge of fighting a star as promising as Alvarez would be a test he’d love to take.

Mayweather vs. Alvarez would never have the aura the potential bout between Money and Manny Pacquiao would have garnered, but it’s the kind of megafight that could go down in history as one of the biggest upsets in history if Canelo stole a win.